Food truck craze hits Miramar

Eight trucks come to city as part of a local church's fundraiser

People line up outside the Grill Master food truck during a food truck event… (Staff photo by Eric Bojanowski )

June 29, 2011|By Chris Guanche, Staff Writer

Mac n' cheese pancakes, burgers, tacos, Cuban food and cupcakes.

They're all part of the food truck craze that is sweeping Miami and recently reached Miramar as part of a fundraiser for a local church. Eight trucks based out of Miami-Dade County traveled to Everglades High School, which serves on Sundays as the venue for Calvary Fellowship. The goal was to raise money to fund the church's service trips to New Hampshire and the Dominican Republic, said Evelyn Martinez, a church administrator.

"We were looking for different ways to fundraise. … There's been a craze with the new food trucks," Martinez said.

Church volunteer and event coordinator Alex Miranda, a self-described food truck junkie, thought the event would be an ideal fundraiser. In the last few years, gourmet food trucks have popped up in major cities such as Los Angeles and New York, with Miami following suit.

Many food trucks work the lunch rush during the day, followed by truck meet-ups at night that are coordinated on Facebook and Twitter. As the trucks have grown in popularity, websites like Miami Food Trucks (www.miamifoodtrucks.com) and Mobi Munch (www.mobimunch.com) have popped up to track truck locations.

"It's like a carnival of food," said church member and food truck enthusiast Josh Guzman, of Miami Lakes.

Guzman heard about food trucks from a friend and began following some of them on Facebook. After that, he attended a truck meet-up in Miami Lakes.

"I think it's great," said church member Victor Corraliza, of Miami Lakes. "You get to try a bunch of different food."

That selection includes Alex Kaplan's cheese-themed truck, CheeseMe Mobile. Featuring such items as mac n' cheese pancakes and burger sliders, every item on the menu includes cheese. After spending many years in the restaurant business, Kaplan briefly operated a cheese restaurant on South Beach before deciding to go mobile. An article on the entertainment website Thrillist (www.thrillist.com) generated lots of attention weeks before the truck was ready to hit the streets.

"It really blew up," Kaplan said. "I had over 1,000 followers on Twitter before the truck even launched."

Social media is an important tool for Raymond Delgado's Grill Master Café. Delgado will post on Facebook and Twitter the day before where the truck will be for lunch and meet-ups.

"It's hard work, and we do everything from scratch," Delgado said.

As the trucks travel around Miami-Dade and Broward, they've developed a legion of followers. The Miramar event included a mix of church members and food truck fans — equipped for an afternoon in the sun with their own picnic blankets and fold-up tables and chairs. Kaplan said that's common at larger events like the Biscayne Triangle Truck Roundup, a weekly event in North Miami that features 35 to 40 trucks and live music.

"It's like a night out and you can take your kids," Kaplan said.

Based on the attendance of the first event, Miranda said he envisions others in the future. One idea is to raise enough money to have several trucks feed the homeless for one afternoon in downtown Fort Lauderdale and Miami.

For more information, visit http://www.calvarywired.com/miramar or call 305-822-7000.